Button-hole sewing-machine



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. S. PREESE.

BUTTON HOLE SEWING MACHINE.

Patented May 14, 1889.

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ATTORNEY,

N. PETERS, Phulo-Llhoghpher, Washington, D. C,

(No Model.) I 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

J. S. FREESE. BUTTON HOLE SEWING MACHINE.

No. 403,342. Patented May 14, 1889.

N, PUERS, Phelwlilhagngpyw. wnsmngmn. u. C.

(No Model.) 4 sheetssheet 4 J. S. FREESE.

BUTTON HOLE SEWING MACHINE. v

No. 403,342. k Patented May 14, 1889.

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N. PETKRS, vnnminhogmymr. wnshingmn D. C,

y UNITED- STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN S. FREESE, OF BROOKLYN, NEV YORK.

BUTTON-HOLE SEWING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 403,342, dated May 14, 1889.

Application led May 11, 1886. Serial No. 201,802. (No model.)

cation.

One object of myinvention is to arrest the working operation of a button-hole sewingmachine automatically whenever a buttonhole has been completed, and another object is to stitch across the edge of a round eye at one end of the button-hole and in the line of a straight bar at the other end thereof without turning the fabric. To which end it consists of the novel features of construction hereinafter described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l represents a partial top or plan view and partial horizontal section of a machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a partial inverted plan or bottom view and partial horizontal section thereof. Fig. 3 represents a partial side view and partial vertical longitudinal section thereof on a smaller scale than that of the preceding iigures. Figs. et and 5 illustrate a modiiication thereof. Figs. G, 7, 8, and 9 represent detail views of parts.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

The letter A designates the stationary machine-arm having pivoted thereto a vibrating arm, B, which carries the needle-bar C, and is connected to an eccentric, C', on the drivingshaft D by means of a pitman, C2, in the usual manner. The driving-shaft D has its bearings in suitable port-ions of the machinearm and is provided with a looper, F., to cooperate with the needle in forming the button-hole stitch.

The letter F indicates the cloth-plate of the machine, having two opposite edges tted in parallel guideways F', which are secured to a feed-bar, F2, extending under the cloth-plate across the machine, the feed-bar being in turn fitted in guideways F1 on the lower forward portion, A', of the machine-arm, to move in a line opposite to the line of said ways of the cloth-plate, which line of the bar is the line of the feed. On the clothplate F is pivoted a clamp, G, to be depressed by a cam, G2, for holding the fabric during the sewing operation and to be lifted by a spring, G', Fig. 3, when it is released.

The letter H indicates the feed-wheel, which in the example shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is mounted horizontally on a suitable shaft depending from a bracket, A2, ofthe machinearm, and in the upper surface of which is a cam-groove, H', for operating a feed-lever, H3, while in the lower surface thereof is a second cam-groove, N', for operating an adjustinglever, N, hereinafter more fully described.

The feed-lever H8 has its fulcrum in a pivot-,

H4, which is adj ustably or otherwise secured in a standard, H7, rising from the base A3 of the machine, and at each end of said lever is a longitudinal slot, HS, by one of which it engages a stud, H9, of the feed-bar F2, while by the other slot it engages a stud, H2, fitted in the cam-groove H' of the feed-wheel, the stud last named being also fitted in a slot, H10, formed in the bracket A2 radially to the feedwheel.

The letter J indicates a cloth-plate-operating wheel, which is mounted horizontally above the driving-shaft D on a staff, J 3, rising from a block or bearing, K, (Figs. 2 and 3,) which is arranged on said Shaft to slide freely thereon, it being held against rotating by a cheek-piece, K2', rising from the base of the machine. In the upper surface of said operating-wheel J is a cam-groove, J', into which is fitted a stud, I2, of a rod, I, having a longitudinal slot, I3, whereby it straddles the wheelstaff J3, and having also a second stud, I', fit-ted into a slot, F3, of the cloth-plate, this slot being parallel to the line of feed. The lower surface of the operating-wheel J is toothed to gear with a correspondingly-toothed driving-wheel, L, which is mounted on a driving-shaft, D, by a suitable feather-key, to slide thereon as well as to share the motion of the shaft. On the bottom of the sliding blockK is a projection, K', having its end bent upward and bifurcated to straddle the hub of the driving-wheel L, for confining said Wheel between it and said block, thereby causing the wheel to slide to and fro with the block.

The adj listing-lever N has its fulcrum in a post, N2, rising from the base of the machine, and said lever has a stud, W, at one end, fitted IOO into the cam-groove N of the feed-wheel, while it is connected at the other end to the sliding block K, in the example shown in Figs. l and 2, by a pivot, N3, and in the example shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5 by a fork` engaging a hook of said block.

The letter O indicates a feed-dog lever and P a detent-lever, both engaging frictionally with a concentric groove, O2, in the lower surface of the feed-wheel under the impulse of a spring, O8 or P', the feed-dog lever also engaging with a cam, O', of the driving-shaft, as by means of a toe, Oi, Fig. 9, which is adjustably secured to said lever to permit of varying the throw of the lever produced by said cam and the ensuing motion of the feedwheel, the operation of said cam O' being to reciprocate the feed-dog lever and thereby impart an intermittentrotary motion to the feed-wheel in a well-known manner.

In the periphery of the feed-Wheel H is a notch or depression, Q, which is a medium for periodically releasing a clutch-lever, R', as hereinafter described, said lever having a pin, R2, engaging a grooved collar, S, which is mounted on the driving-shaft D to slide thereon, and to which is secured one end of a feather-key, S2, Fig. 5, of the driving-shaft, the other or outer end of which key has a lug adapted to enter a radial notch/l, in the eye of a loose pulley, T', on the driving-shaft for imparting motion to said shaft from the pulley. The clutch-lever R' has its fulcruln in a suitable post rising from. the base of the machine, and in the example shown in Figs. l and 2 a spring, RB, is connected to said lever to act thereon with a tendency to hold a spur,

' R, on one end thereof, in engagement with said periphery of the feed-wheel.

The cam-groove Il' of the feed-wheel is substantiallyheart-shaped, and the lower or more angular portion thereof is corrugated, as shown in Figs. l and 8, the width from side to side of said corrugated portion corresponding to the Width of the remainder portion of the groove for adapting it to the stud H2 of the feed-lever.

The operation of the machine thus constructed is as follows: In the intermittent rotary motion of the feed-wheel 'Il the feed-lever I-IS is oseillated, by the action of the camgroove H' of said wheel, through the stud H2, traveling in the radial slot H10 of the bracket, and the feed-bar F2, together with the clothplate F and its ways F', are moved uniformly in reverse parallel directions, by the action of the feed-lever, through the stud H9, while during both of said feed motions the cloth-plate is reciprocated continuously in a line opposite to the line of feed by the action of the operating-wheel J, through its cam-groove J' and the rod I, for bringing the needle alternately in and out of the fabric containing the button-hole to be sewed. The length of sai-d reverse feed motions of the cloth-plate determines the length of the buttolrliole, and during one of the intervals between said motions the cloth-plate is reciprocated in the line of the feed by the action of the corrugated portion ll5 of the feed-wheel groove, while during the other interval between said motions the clothplate is rendered immovable in the line of the feed for a certain period, due to the fiat portion II6 of said groove. The cloth-plate is also moved in a line opposite to the line of feed or laterally to the button-hole, irrespective of the reciprocal motion imparted thereto by the operating-wheel J, in one direction during one interval and in the other direction during the other interval between said feed motions by the action-of the cam-groove N' of the feedwheel on the operating-wheel and its rod for bringing the needle from one to the other side of the button-hole. Said action of the camgroove N of the feed-wheel on thc operatingshaft J is through the adj ust-in g-lever N,whiel1 is oseillated thereby, while the sliding block K is moved lengthwise of the driving-shaft D, carrying with it the operating-wheel and its connections, and said cam groove is so shaped that in said lateral adjustment of the cloth-plate the latter is moved reciprocally in one direction-that is t0 say, first outward toward the operating-wheel a short distance, then inward a longer distance, and th'en again outward also a short distance--while it is moved uniformly in the other direction. The said adjustment of the cloth-plate, moreover, is so timed that the reciprocal motion thereof laterally to the line of feed is simultaneous with the corresponding motion thereof parallel to the line of feed, and by the compound motion thus imparted to said plate the needle is adapted to stitch across the edge of a round eye at one end of the button-hole, while the uniform lateral motion of the plate takes place while the plate is stationary or approaches a stationary condition in the line of the feed, the effect of which is to adapt the needle to stitch in the line of a straight bar at the other end of the button-hole without the necessity of turning the fabric in forming either the eye or the bar. In the formation of said eye of the button-hole that portion of the cam-groove il' included between the points N5 N6 is in action, while in the formation of the button-hole bar the part N7 of said groove is in action. When in the motion of the feed- Wheel Il' its peripheral notch. Q is brought opposite the spur R of the clutch-lever R', the spur drops into said notch under the impulse of the spring R3, and by the ensuing motion of the clutch-lever the sliding collar S is drawn inward upon the driving-shaft D, thereby drawing the clutch S2 of the featherkey on said shaft from the notch ',l of the pulley T', so that the shaft ceases to derive motion from the pulley, and the operation of the machine is arrested. The position of. said notch Q of the feed-wheel is so adjusted that the spur R of the clutch-lever is received therein whenever a button-hole has been eom pleted, the needle being then in a higher position, and it follows that the operation of the IOO IIO

machine is automatically arrested at that period, which is not only a convenience to theV operator, but insures the proper formation of the button-hole; and in order to again put the machine in operation vthe clutch-lever R' is adjusted by hand to re-engage the clutch S2 with the pulley, and is. retained in that position until said notch of the feed-wheel yhas cleared the spur of the clutch-lever, as shown in Fig. 2. To permit said adjustment of the clutch-lever, it is provided with a handle, R4, on the outer or free end.

In the modification shown in Figs. l and 7 the feed-wheel H is immediately beneath the cloth-plate F, and the stud H2, working in the cam-groove H' of said wheel, is connected directly to said cloth-plate, omitting the feedlever H3 of Figs. l and,2. In said modification, moreover, a second or stop lever, Q', is combined with the clutch-lever, this stop-lever having a pin, Q2, in peripheral contact with the feed-wheel, and having also a stopjoint, Q2, engaging the spur-R of the clutchlever, so constructed as to permit the latter to be released by hand for arresting the operation of the machine at any desired point without regard to the position of the button-hole, said joint being simply shifted by hand in the proper direction to free said spur of the clutch-lever with a like effect as is produced by the notch Q of the feed-wheel, the stopjoint consisting of a pivoted end portion of the lever provided with a spring for holding it in normal position, so that when the lever is bent on said joint against the action of the spring the lever R' is released and allowed to follow the action of the spring R3 to withdraw the feather-key S' from the pulley T' and throw the driving-shaft out of gear.

What l claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a button-hole sewing machine, the combination, of a cloth-plate, F, fitted in parallel guideways F', a feed-bar, F2, carrying said ways of the cloth-plate, guideways F4 for said bar on the machine-frame,v a feed-wheel, H, having two cam-grooves, H' N', one connected with said feed-bar, a cloth-plate-operating wheel, J, having a cam-groove, J', an operating-rod, I, connecting the cloth-plate with said groove of the operating-wheel, a driving-shaft, D, a driving-wheel, L, on said shaft geared with the operating-wheel, a slidling block, K, on said shaft engaging the driving-wheel, a staff, J 3, on said block, carrying rections and to render said plate immovable during one interval between said reverse directions of feed motion, and also provided with a serpentine portion of a shape to move said plate reciprocally in the line of feed during the other interval between said reverse directions of feed motion, said cam-groove of the feed-wheel being connected with the feedbar, a cloth-plate-operating mechanism, and a driving-shaft connected with the feed-wheel and said operating mechanism, all substantially as herein described, for the purpose set forth.

3. In a button-hole sewingmachine, the combination, with the stitch-forming mechanism and cloth-plate, of a feed-bar having mounted thereon guideways F' for said plate, guideways FL for said bar on the machineframe, an operatingwheel having a camgroove, J', connected with the cloth-plate, a feed-wheel having cam-grooves H' N' in its opposite faces, one, H', partly plain and partly serpentine and of a shape to move the clothplate uniformly in reverse directions and reciprocally in the line of feed during one interval between said reverse directions of feed motion, and theother, N', entirely plain and of a shape to move said operating-wheel together with the cloth-plate opposite to the line of feed in one direction during one in-l terval and in the other direction during the other interval between said reverse directions of feed motion, said two cam-grooves of the IOO the feed-bar and the operating-wheel bearing,

JOHN S. FREESE.

Witnesses:

J As. S. EWBANK, FRANCIS C. BOWEN. 

